Lakewood Loses Fight to Keep Part of Turnberry Country Club from Village

A letter from Lakewood Village President Dave Stavropoulos to residents:

The Village of Lakewood is issuing this community notice regarding the Turnberry Golf Club
property and a recent court decision allowing disconnection (or de-annexation) of portions of the
golf course from the Village. This letter is intended to (1) explain what occurred in court, (2)
summarize what the Village has experienced with this ownership group, and (3) explain the
Village’s immediate next steps to protect residents.

First Leap Holdings, LLC (“First Leap”), the owner of the Turnberry Golf Club, filed a petition
in 2022 seeking to disconnect portions of the Turnberry property from the Village of Lakewood.
First Leap amended its original petition and did not seek to remove the clubhouse from the
Village’s boundaries. This is likely because the clubhouse is connected to the Village’s water
and sewer systems. Under Illinois law, property owners must prove seven statutory factors to
disconnect property from a municipality. The Village fought this case through summary
judgment and trial. Village counsel had advised early on, that disconnection cases are extremely
difficult for municipalities to win because Illinois courts often interpret the statute liberally in
favor of disconnection and without meaningful regarded to surrounding properties and the
totality effects thereof. Despite the Village having presented rational evidence and opposing the
petition, the Court ultimately ruled in favor of disconnection.

The Village has had several issues and conflicts with the ownership group controlling Turnberry.

These concerns have included Village-documented issues involving:

• Construction and site work occurring without appropriate permitting and review,
• Attempts to alter the property in ways that raised drainage/watershed and safety concerns,
• Placement of temporary structures and facilities on the course,
• Storage of fuel and other materials raising safety concerns, and
• Repeated disputes regarding how water flowed through the Turnberry golf course to
  provide irrigation to both the Turnberry course and to RedTail Golf Course.

This pattern of conduct and decision-making created unnecessary risks for the surrounding
community and generates avoidable conflict with local government. This is why the Village
contested First Leap’s attempt to disconnect the golf course property

The Village’s position is straightforward:

• The Village will not ignore safety, maintenance, and compliance issues on or around Turnberry simply because litigation occurred.
• The Village will continue to use every lawful tool available to protect nearby homeowners, neighborhood property values, and public safety.
• The Village will continue monitoring conditions closely, particularly where prior conduct
  has raised concerns

Following the Court’s decision, the Village is evaluating all lawful next steps, including:

• The Village is reviewing options available under Illinois law, including whether any appeal is appropriate.
• The Village will continue enforcing applicable Village codes and requirements where jurisdiction and authority exist, including health and safety-related issues.
• The Village is also reviewing its position regarding continued municipal services to properties owned by First Leap.

While the Village will comply with the Court’s ruling, it strongly and categorically disagrees with Judge Costello’s decision because it fails to reasonably account for the real-world impacts on surrounding residents, including public safety and police response times now under McHenry County Sheriff jurisdiction – and it minimizes and harms the Village’s sustained good-faith efforts to resolve these issues amicably.

To the extent possible, the Village will continue to update residents through official communications and Village Board meetings.

The Village is reviewing options available under Illinois law, including whether any
appeal is appropriate.

The Village will continue enforcing applicable Village codes and requirements where
jurisdiction and authority exist, including health and safety-related issues.

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Judge Costello’s ruling.